A Moshi-based businessman, who handed over his Mercedes Benz, worth Rs 6 lakh, to a man posing as an RTO agent to renew its registration, was in for a rude shock when the man disappeared with the high-end car. It is suspected that the man was involved in similar cases earlier in Pimpri Chinchwad.

The growth in demand for the vehicles, costing upwards of Rs 25 lakh, came even as the duty on them became dearer in the GST era while the budget increased the taxation on locally-assembled (completely-knocked-down) cars.

Chinese products are ruling the Indian market in the space of electronics, infotainment, toys and mobile phones. They are stealthily capturing the Indian automotive space too. In the recent past, over half a dozen vehicle manufacturers in India have got their mastership attached to China. This is excluding the humongous business share our neighbour has in the aftermarket and tyre businesses. How will this impact the future of the Indian automobile market, explores Nabeel A Khan.

Volvo Car plans to bring only electrified vehicles to the local market starting 2019, the move being in line with New Delhi’s vision to switch 40% of the country’s new vehicle fleet to an all-electric mode.

Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman at India’s second largest truck maker Ashok Leyland, prefers a low profile, but with managing director Vinod Dasari leaving at the end of the month, he says he’s become more “hands-on”.